The Australian National University
Canberra
ACT 0200

Phone: +61 2 6125 3958
Fax: +61 2 6125 0738
Email: Chantal.Alibert@anu.edu.au 

• Validation of trace element climate proxies in Porites coral skeleton

• Monitoring of seawater composition changes related e.g. to terrestrial inputs by comparing marker elements (Ba, Mn, P) in corals from key sites in Great Barrier Reef and Western Pacific Warm Pool

• Still trying to elucidate the role of calcification processes in near equatorial corals which show a strong distortion of ratios (Sr/Ca, U/Ca, Mg/Ca & B/Ca) which are generally mostly temperature dependent

• Apply high-precision Sr/Ca coral thermometry (TIMS + LA-ICPMS) to a long coral core from off-shore GBR (carefully selected by validating the top ~10 years of the record against instrumental sea surface temperature). Although trends at century-scale from long Sr/Ca time-series are unlikely to be meaningful due to calcification processes, there is a better expectation regarding the monitoring of SST variability at shorter time scales ( ENSO-like and inter-decadal), at least at a semi-quantitative level

• Major climatic steps like the one that occurred during the 70s could be searched in the past centuries. The period 1600-1800 and the turn of the last century (1850-1910) are also worth investigating due to limited information for the southern hemisphere. Results could be compared against available long d18O records from the southern GBR (Abraham Reef: Druffel & Griffin, ’99) and New Caledonia (Quinn et al., ’98) and fluorescence records from central GBR (Isdale et al., ’98) which carry additional information on rainfall regime and seawater salinity 

• Key locations are expected to be in the northern part of GBR (e.g. Osprey Reef) to capture at best the ENSO-related interannual changes of SST

Note: I am presently without a research position

Phone: +61 7 4753 4236
Fax: +61 7 4772 5852
Email: d.barnes@aims.gov.au 

• coral calcification and growth

• coral reef metabolic performance

• density banding in massive corals

Areas of interest:

• development of useful, high-resolution proxy environmental records from coral density banding

• relationships amongst growth, form, performance and environment for corals and coral reefs

• techniques for measuring calcification, growth and performance of corals and coral reefs

• extension of density banding work into marginal environments for corals and coral reefs

• the seawater carbonate equilibrium, reefs and global CO²

Phone: +61 7 4753 4218 
Fax: +61 7 4772 5852
Email: g.brunskill@aims.gov.au 

• biogeochemistry, radiochemistry

• sediment geochemistry

• north Queensland and Gulf of Papua/Fly River sedimentation

• coral history vs mangrove tree-ring history vs sediment core history

Areas of interest:

• folk music, parrots, exotic foods

• global and regional mass balances related to global change

• land use change signals in continental shelf deposits

• coral core geochemistry, contaminants

• mangrove tree-ring chronology

Phone: +1 925 422 4396
Fax: +1 925 423 7784
Email: fallon4@llnl.gov 

• measuring trace elements by laser ablation and solution ICP-MS

• developing new strategies for ICPMS calibration

Areas of interest:

• Trace element incorporation into coral and coralline sponge aragonite

• Using tracers in corals and sclerosponges to document long term SST, upwelling and river runoff

• Examining corals as monitors of anthropogenic influences, Misima Mine, PNG

• measuring trace elements in nearshore GBR corals to determine current environmental pollution and contaminants and developing pre-industrial baselines

• testing SST tracers (B/Ca, Mg/Ca, U/Ca) in environments influenced by runoff/salinity changes

• Obtaining environmental records from sclerosponges

Phone: +61 2 6125 5926
Fax: +61 2 6125 0738
Email: michael.gagan@anu.edu.au 

• stable isotopes in biogenic carbonates

• development of high-resolution proxy climate records from corals

• tropical paleoclimatology

• Great Barrier Reef sedimentation/geochemistry

Areas of interest:

• calibration/validation of geochemical tracers in corals

• combined use of coral paleothermometry and 18O/16O to document SSTs, rainfall and ocean circulation

• retrospective analysis of coral life histories and reproduction using 13C/12C

• reconstructing tropical climates during different background climates

• reconstruction of the Indian Ocean dipole- throughflow -ENSO system

• sensitivity of paleomonsoons in the Indonesian-Australian region to changes in warm pool SSTs

• integrating coral, tree ring and ice core records from the tropics

• integrating instrumental, paleoclimatic and numerical model data set

Phone: +61 7 4729 8405
Fax: +61 7 4729 4899
Email: vicki.harriott@crcreef.com  

• coral growth

• subtropical coral ecology

• coral reproductive biology and recruitment patterns

• marine resource management

• environmental rehabilitation and restoration

Areas of interest:

• application of geochemical analytical techniques to interesting biological and ecological questions

• growth rates of a range of taxa from subtropical Australia using alizarin staining and X-radiography (Lord Howe Island, Houtman Abrolhos, Solitary Island, Moreton Bay and southern GBR)

• latitudinal variation in growth characteristics and testing of Grigg’s (1982) theories

• environmental records contained in corals, particularly from subtropical locations where periodic severe conditions (eg cold water) may kill and limit reef growth

• intra- and inter-annual variability in environmental conditions at subtropical locations

• taxa other than massive Porites, eg, foliose/columnar Porites and massive faviids)

• Analysis of trace element ratios in coral (Ba/Ca and U/Ca by solution-ICP-MS, and Sr/Ca by TIMS).

• Analysis of stable isotopes in carbonates and natural waters.

• Pb-210 to measure bioturbation and sedimentation rates in estuaries.

• GC-MS measurement of trace organic contaminants from sediment and shellfish.

Areas of interest:

• Decadal to century variability of SST, salinity, E-P balance, rainfall and river runoff and ocean circulation in the SW Pacific.

• Using coral geochemical tracers (delta-18O, delta-13C, Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca, and U/Ca) and UV luminescent (fluorescent) banding to detail climatic variations in the Great Barrier Reef over the last 420 years. 

• Integrating proxy and historical records to understand tropical and global climate variability on decadal to century timescales.

• Providing confidence intervals on coral records and detailing the reproducibility of coral climate proxies within and between coral colonies over the past several centuries.

• Understanding the controls on the variability of geochemical and isotopic tracers within and between coral colonies.

• Application of techniques used in other paleoclimate sources to coral record analysis, e.g. cross-dating methods, and master record construction.

• explaining trace element incorporation into coral skeletons

• experience in collecting and developing other paleoclimate proxy records

• combining tropical land and ocean proxy climate records

• time-series analysis in climate studies

Phone: +61 7 4753 4248
Fax: +61 7 4772 5852
Email: j.lough@aims.gov.au 

Fields of expertise:

• tropical climate variation · 

• applications of high-resolution proxy climate records · 

• coral growth characteristics from density banding patterns in massive corals · 

• luminescence in coral skeletons as records of terrestrial impacts and river flow and rainfall

• development of reliable, high-resolution proxy climate records for the past several centuries

• understanding nature and causes of past and possible future climate variation

• sensitivity of tropical marine ecosystems to climate variation and change

• development, integration and interpretation of past climate variations from proxy sources· 

• assessment of possible impacts of global climate change on coral reefs

Phone: +61 2 6125 9967
Fax: +61 2 6125 0738
Email: John.Marshall@anu.edu.au 

• reef growth (Holocene)

• Carbonate diagenesis

• Proxy climate records in corals

• climate signals in corals (in particular Sr/Ca derived SST)Modern corals from Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Atoll in the eastern Indian Ocean have been analysed for trace elements (B/Ca, Mg/Ca, P, Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca and U/Ca) and stable isotopes (?13C and ?18O) using a combination of thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS), laser ablation ICP-MS and gas source mass spectrometry. Proxy sea surface temperatures were determined from the Sr/Ca ratio as measured by TIMS

• modern corals from Myrmidon and Stanley Reefs in the central Great Barrier Reef have been analysed for Sr/Ca and calibrated against instrumental records from Myrmidon and Davies reefs respectively. Proxy SST records show an excellent correlation with the instrumental record. Trace elements from the top part of the Myrmidon Reef core have been measured by laser ablation ICP-MS. Both Sr/Ca results from TIMS and ICP-MS show nearly identical values

• Holocene corals from Myrmidon Reef (8000 yr old) and Stanley Reef (5500 yr old) have been compared with the modern record. Previous Sr/Ca results suggest variations in SST during the early to mid Holocene. Laser ablation ICP-MS and stable isotope measurements have been carried out on these corals

   

• teleconnection of ENSO events in the Indian and Pacific Oceans using Sr/Ca SSTs

The Australian National University
Canberra
ACT 0200

Phone: +61 2 6125 9969
Fax: +61 2 6125 0738
Email: Malcolm.McCulloch@anu.edu.au 

• development and application of isotopic techniques to a wide range of geological and environmental problems

• use of corals to provide high quality, quantitative proxy records of SST, rainfall and sea level changes

• examine in detail, using still unique high-resolution capabilities, critical time windows to better understand climatic episodes, such as El Niño events

• combined use of Sr/Ca ratios and d18O variations in corals to deconvolve the effects of SST variations from rainfall-runoff in the GBR

• use combined Sr/Ca ratios and d18O systematics to determine frequency of major droughts in northern Queensland over past 200 years prior to European settlement (relevant to land usage)

• use of high precision TIMS U-series with fossil corals to better constrain not only timing of sea level changes but more importantly the rates of sea level change and integrate this information with climate proxies for SST (Sr/Ca) and rainfall (oxygen isotopes)

• uplifted fossil terraces of Huon Peninsula

• expand range of analytical tools to address questions such as whether there has been a change in the elemental fluxes from large coastal rivers into the GBR

• high-resolution temporal studies of climate change using laser ablation ICP-MS system for in situ analyses of trace elements in carbonates (corals, cave deposits)

Phone: +61 (0)2 6125 2066
Fax: +61 (0)2 6125 5544
Email: amuller@geology.anu.edu.au 

• Long-term high-resolution monitoring of SST using the coral d18O and Sr/Ca thermometers for Ningaloo Reef (Western Australia) and coral reefs in Indonesia

• Oxygen isotope composition of Indo-Australian seawater

• The effect of early marine diagenesis in corals on 20^th century reconstructions of the carbonate saturation state of the ocean

• Early marine diagenesis and geochemical consequences for paleoceanographic reconstructions

• Reconstructions of paleomonsoons in the Indonesian-Australian region

• Reconstruction of the Indian Ocean dipole - Indonesian throughflow – ENSO variability in the past

• Combining instrumental, paleoclimatic and numerical model data sets

• Radiocarbon records in corals, high latitude corals

Phone: +61 7 3365 6717
Fax: +61 73365 6899
Email: d.neil@uq.edu.au 

• use of proxy records in massive corals to reconstruct sediment yield histories of coastal catchments, particularly the effect of land use intensification

• use of coral skeletal geochemistry as one component of attempts to construct an "environmental history" of catchments and adjacent coastal systems, eg Moreton Bay and its catchment

Australian Institute of Marine Science
PMB 3, Townsville MC
Queensland 4810

Phone: +61 7 4753 4260
Fax: +61 7 4772 5852
Email: b.parker@aims.gov.au 

• advanced technology underwater coring

• fluorescence measurement techniques on coral skeletons

Areas of interest:

• coral skeletal paleothermometry

• seasonal climate histories from corals

• advanced measurement techniques for visible images in coral cores

• biogeochemistry of contaminants in coral skeletons

• kite-borne survey instrumentation development

• paleohydrological modelling on continental margins

Phone: +61 2 6620 3252
Fax: +61 2 6622 2208
Email: lroberts@scu.edu.au 

• environmental records in coral skeletons

• environmental records in coral skeletons in subtropical areas including southern Queensland (Moreton Bay) and northern NSW (Solitary Island and Lord Howe Island)

Phone: +61 2 9717 3916
Email: djs@ansto.gov.au  

• development of techniques for high-resolution coral analysis

• ICP-MS analysis (solution and laser-ablation)

• controls on coastal trace-element chemistry

• trace-element profiles of fresh-water discharge

• high-resolution trace-element analysis of corals: relation to structural features

• use of corals as a tool for evaluating processes controlling trace elements in shallow marine waters

• records of river-discharge composition in corals

• variation in trace-element signals in corals from pre-European to present

• anything; offer me a post-doc!

Phone: +61 7 4781 4319
Fax: +61 7 4781 4020
Email: scott.smithers@jcu.edu.au 

• microatolls from mid-ocean atolls and recent sea-level change

• Holocene evolution of mid-ocean atolls

• sea-level change

• paleoclimatic reconstructions from coral skeletons from the Indian Ocean

• fluorescent banding in mid-ocean corals

• regional paleoclimatic histories from the last Ice Age

Phone: +61 7 4753 4230
Fax: +61 7 4772 5852
Email: r.taylor@aims.gov.au 

• mathematical modelling of
  a. growth in massive corals
  b. inclusive records in massive corals
  c. luminescence in corals

• growth mechanisms in massive corals 

• inclusive records in massive corals 

• causes of luminescence in corals

• too old to have any!

Phone: +61 7 4930 9693
Fax: +61 7 4930 9209
Email: e.tentori@cqu.edu.au 

• soft coral biology

• physiological ecology of soft corals and factors affecting their distribution

• comparative studies of calcification in octocorals

• ultrastructure of soft corals

Phone: +61 7 4781 5718
Fax: +61 7 4725 1570
Email: james.true@jcu.edu.au 

• coral taxonomy and biology

• tissue layer variation in Porites

• biology of reefs corals

• causes of variation in tissue layer thickness of Porites

• biological rhythms in corals

• development of monitoring technique from reef corals

• understanding causes of stress and mechanisms used by corals for dealing with environmental perturbations